The Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM) in Cleveland, Ohio is part of the Ohio-based National Center for Regenerative Medicine, which is the 4th largest stem cell research organization in the U.S. Bringing together a diverse array of experts, CSCRM provides comprehensive stem cell research aimed at delivering breakthroughs in treating a range of human diseases. CSCRM is comprised of researchers and clinicians from leading Ohio-based medical institutions: Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, The Cleveland Clinic, Athersys Inc. and The Ohio State University.
Debra Grega, Ph.D., executive director at CSCRM, coordinates interdisciplinary research groups, biotechnology business and product development. Dr. Grega joined CSCRM in March 2004 after working for nearly 20 years in the commercial biotechnology industry working for companies such as Athersys Inc. and Roche Diagnostics/Boehringer Mannheim Corporation.
Building on the 30-year history of adult stem cell research in Northeast Ohio, CSCRM was created in 2003 with a $19.4 million award from the State of Ohio as a Wright Center of Innovation from the Ohio Third Frontier, an unprecedented and bipartisan state commitment to create technology-based products, companies, industries and jobs. In 2006, CSCRM received an $8 million award, and again in June 2009, a $5 million award from the Ohio Third Frontier’s Research and Commercialization Program.
Read Dr. Grega's full story and find out more about the Ohio Third Frontier.
Dr. Mark Laskovics, president and chief operating officer of Girindus America Inc., knows it takes the right combination of people, education and environment to build a successful bioscience business.
That's why Ohio is the perfect location for Girindus, a technology-driven company creating solutions for the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
A $5-million federal grant is aimed at revving up the skills of Ohio's displaced auto and other workers, training them for jobs in the growing bioscience world, according to hiVelocity in an article on September 23.
The initiative will take place over three years, and more than $2.8 million of grant has been set aside for tuition reimbursement and trainee scholarships
The dollars will be used to create new programs or build on new ones at the colleges, which are partnering with employers and labor, workforce development and non-profit organizations to develop programs to retrain and identify workers in Ohio's auto and other declining industries.
The program is focused not just on education and training but moving people into jobs through the public and private partnerships says Dr. Bill Tacon, Senior Director, Workforce & Education at BioOhio.
"We will help them find a job. We're not simply training and just letting them go. Each has an industry advisory board, and when we got the grant the industry advisory board signed a letter of commitment saying they are looking at new potential hires," Tacon says.
Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry (MD+DI), a monthly magazine written exclusively for original equipment manufacturers of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic products, recently recognized Ohio's global leadership in medical device innovation.
Ohio is home to more than 300 medical device companies -- and nearly 55% of the state’s 1,628 bioscience firms are medical device manufacturers, medical labs, or diagnostics imaging centers, according to data in nonprofit group BioOhio’s 2009 bioscience growth report. In 2008, these combined subsectors employed 24,665 people, reported MD+DI.
Medical devices represent just one sector of Ohio's leading bioscience and bioproducts industry -- which includes research, development and marketing of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, bioinformatics, bioproduct materials, manufacturing, medical devices, medical equipment, services based on biotechnology, computer systems and software for managing healthcare and other health-related products.
Based on the color model established by European bioscience leaders, Ohio's strength in the Red (health), Green (agriculture) and White (industrial) bioscience industry sectors stimulates innovation, promotes cross-collaboration and provides cost-effective solutions to scientific challenges.
Click here to read the full story about Ohio's growing leadership in medical device innovation from MD+DI.
By: Kristi Tanner, Brand Manager, Ohio Business Development Coalition
With more than $2.5 billion in funding and over 1,100 bioscience entities in operation throughout the state, Ohio is establishing an international leadership role in the cutting-edge bioscience industry. Ohio’s strength in biotech is broad and deep, with an emphasis on research, development and marketing of pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, bioinformatics, medical devices, medical equipment and other health-related products. Bioscience companies represent not only the next wave for the global economy, but also opportunity for dramatic advances in the human experience.
Ohio welcomed 41 bioscience organizations in 2008 and 60 in 2007 by way of new company launches or companies establishing their first facility in the state. Many of these additions are companies that migrated to Ohio from other states or other countries—such as Israel, Japan and Australia. Further evidence of Ohio’s strength in the bioscience arena is their recent ranking of fourth among the states and best in the Midwest in overall biotech strength by Business Facilities Magazine’s recently released 2008 Biotechnology Strength Report.
Part of the explosion of growth in Ohio’s bioscience community can be attributed to the availability of capital in the industry. Ohio’s venture development community is increasing its support of technology company formations as a result of several key public and private initiatives launched over the last several years in angel, seed and early-stage venture funds. The result is more capital investment and increased business growth across the spectrum. According to the Midwest Health Care Venture Investment Report, Ohio healthcare-related companies attracted $296 million in 2007. And overall, venture capital investment was up 50% in Ohio in 2008, while it declined nationwide.
Ohio also provides critical support services and a collaborative environment between researchers, institutions and technology business throughout the entire spectrum of bioscience development. From early research to full commercialization, from diagnostic to therapeutic, from pharmaceutical to medical devices, and from agricultural biotech to advanced materials, Ohio’s bioscience entities build partnerships and clusters of innovation that lead to new products and technologies.
Based on the color model established by European bioscience leaders, Ohio’s strength in the Red (health), Green (agriculture) and White (industrial) bioscience industry sectors stimulates innovation, promotes cross-collaboration and provides cost-effective solutions to scientific challenges. The concentration of these three industries in Ohio allows companies and researchers to work side-by-side on solutions and explore product applications in multiple disciplines.
Ohio's superior medical system also helps explain the state's emerging dominance in the bioscience field. In U.S. News & World Report's 2008 "America's Best Hospitals" list, 14 Ohio hospitals were ranked among the nation's top 220 hospitals in a variety of specialties, ranking Ohio among the top 5 states. The 2008 U.S. News & World Report "America's Best Children's Hospitals" rankings show that 4 of the top 15 pediatric hospitals are in Ohio—Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (3rd), University Hospital's Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital in Cleveland (5th), Children's Hospital Cleveland Clinic (14th) and Nationwide Children's in Columbus (15th). Due in part to its strong clinical network and medical reputation, Ohio hosted 16 percent of all clinical trials conducted in the U.S.
If capital, collaboration, a superior medical community and critical support services are the ingredients for success, then the cooks in the kitchen are the Ohio Third Frontier, BioOhio and the many biotech researchers, businesses and entrepreneurial leaders in the state. Key investments growing over time have helped to build the industry to what it is today. For businesses, the benefit is a critical mass of like-minded bio-businesses and research universities, and a highly qualified workforce. For executives, the state’s vast educational and recreational opportunities make Ohio particularly attractive both professionally and personally. Their continued dedication will certainly improve the lives of all Ohioans for years to come.
Debra Grega, Ph.D., executive director at CSCRM, coordinates interdisciplinary research groups, biotechnology business and product development. Dr. Grega joined CSCRM in March 2004 after working for nearly 20 years in the commercial biotechnology industry working for companies such as Athersys Inc. and Roche Diagnostics/Boehringer Mannheim Corporation.
